If you harbor a dream of your child graduating from college without being buried in student loan debt, you’re probably going to have to save up a heck of a lot of money for the cause. The earlier you start saving, the more you’ll be able to contribute. But it’s important that you get your kid in on the effort.

A significant amount of parenting is about coercing your kids into doing things that are good for them, such as eating vegetables and learning life skills. Playing computer games with your kids is a way to do just that. Under the guise of sitting at the computer to have fun, games can make it easy to teach them financial lessons, such as simple math, fractions and more abstract concepts.

Parents who don’t admit to bribing their kids either aren’t being honest or are missing out on a crucial technique that can bring peace and satisfaction to their households. Bribes, which can be described more charitably as reverse threats, can help parents get work done at home, delegate household chores to completion and preserve general sanity.

Kids are expensive, hitting you up for 18 years or more of food, clothing and healthcare, to say nothing of potential college expenses. As the years go by, they’re only getting more costly. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, each youngster you raise will sap $226,920 out of you by age 18. The figure is up $60,000 from 10 years ago — a 40 percent increase.